back to browsing

Pure 60's: The #1 Hits

Various Artists
1 disc

1. Runaround Sue - Dion
2. Runaway - Del Shannon
3. Lion Sleeps Tonight, The (Wimoweh) - The Tokens
4. Please Mr. Postman - The Marvelettes
5. It's My Party - Lesley Gore
6. My Boyfriend's Back - The Angels
7. Heat Wave, (Love Is Like A) - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
8. My Girl - The Temptations
9. Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann
10. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) - The Four Tops
11. Stop! In the Name of Love - The Supremes
12. Wild Thing - The Troggs
13. Hang on Sloopy - The McCoys
14. I Got You Babe - Sonny & Cher
15. Monday Monday - The Mamas & the Papas
16. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
17. Summer in the City - The Lovin' Spoonful
18. Windy - The Association
19. Happy Together - The Turtles
20. Letter, The - The Box Tops
21. I'm a Believer - The Monkees
22. Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock
23. Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & the Shondells
24. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
25. Aquarius / Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures) - The 5th Dimension
26. Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye - Steam
Read More...
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 069 119
Credits

Producer Jeff Moskow (Compilation)
Engineer
Recorded between 1961 & 1969.
This compilation is just what it says: number one hits on the American charts from the 1960s. It has a leg up on some similar anthologies, though, by virtue of its sheer quantity: 26 songs spanning the entire decade, which is pretty good value for a single CD. While it's true the selection is a little arbitrary, on the whole it's really good, and whether you care about chart statistics or not, it's an excellent disc if you're looking for an all-purpose collection of 1960s pop/rock classics. There are many core classics here, spanning rock, soul, pop, and the British Invasion: the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," Del Shannon's "Runaway," the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman," Martha & the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave," Manfred Mann's "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," the Mamas & the Papas' "Monday, Monday," the Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City," the Box Tops' "The Letter," the Troggs' "Wild Thing," the Temptations' "My Girl," and Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Actually, if there's one complaint, it's that British artists are only represented by those Manfred Mann and Troggs cuts. But even the less-critically canonized, poppy hits here are for the most part indisputable classics: the Turtles' "Happy Together," Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," the Monkees' "I'm a Believer," the Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense and Peppermints," the Association's "Windy," Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe," and more. It's like a double-dozen dose of number one hits from oldies stations without the commercials or any of the clunkers that happened to reach number one by chance. ~ Richie Unterberger